STEM OPT Principal Cybersecurity Engineer Jobs
Principal Cybersecurity Engineer roles in defense, cloud security, and financial infrastructure regularly hire STEM OPT candidates with degrees in computer science, information security, or a related CIP-coded field. Your 24-month STEM OPT extension applies here, provided your employer is enrolled in E-Verify and your I-983 training plan maps directly to your degree.
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What success looks like in this role:
Responsible for the identification, tracking, and management of enterprise risks in Unisys cloud environments. This includes performing risk assessments and measuring the success and effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Collaboration across business units and effective communication of cloud security policies and procedures will be critical. Candidates for this role should have a strong background in cloud management and understand networking between on-prem and cloud environments.
- Design and implement security dashboards for real-time visibility into vulnerabilities, threat intelligence, and risk metrics, providing actionable insights to development and security teams.
- Analyze, prioritize, and manage vulnerabilities identified in applications and cloud infrastructure. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure timely remediation and risk mitigation.
- Collaborate with the SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) security team configuring and managing the SIEM platform.
- Assists in analyzing new software requests from a security perspective, ensuring alignment with organizational security policies and best practices.
- Implement and maintain a broad range of security technologies and processes to support the organization’s cloud-based applications, services, and infrastructure. Understand how to work with managed security services for the top cloud providers.
- Provide expertise and support to business teams regarding best practices for cloud security.
- Develop, tune, and maintain AI agents, prompts, and scripts that reduce manual analyst workload - for example, detection triage, alert enrichment, and report generation.
- Support the AI Security Architect in piloting, testing, and rolling out new AI capabilities and platform modules.
- Perform routine and targeted audits of cloud environments to identify security vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to conduct security risk assessments and incident response for cloud services.
- Serves as an escalation point for technical issues around security tooling and the Unisys SOC team.
You will be successful in this role if you have:
Prior work experience should include:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology or similar, or the equivalent hands-on experience combined with training and certifications.
- Strong knowledge of cloud architectures, operations, and security controls.
- 3-5+ years of application security experience.
- Solid scripting/programming ability (Python, PowerShell, or similar) for building automation and integrations.
- Experience working in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and cloud security tooling.
- Strong understanding of regulatory compliance requirements related to cloud environments.
- Proficiency in security technologies such as SIEM, SOAR, and endpoint protection.
- At least 5 years of experience between cloud engineering and security operations.
- Proven experience of handling cloud security incidents.
- Have conducted cloud security audits, compliance assessments, and creating recommendations for improving security posture.
- Handling event streams in cloud platforms or workloads and have worked on automation that ingested or processed these events.
- Communicate effectively with developers, project teams, technical and business owners the security risks and remediation strategies appropriate for an application.
- Strong organizational skills and time management capabilities.
Benefits
Unisys offers an outstanding benefits package, featuring unlimited paid time off, a 401(k) match, comprehensive healthcare, HSA matching, ongoing learning opportunities, and more! We’re committed to supporting work-life balance and investing in your future success.
Video Interview
At Unisys, we incorporate video interviews as a key part of our hiring process. This allows us to get to know you better and provide a more engaging and convenient interview experience. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to connecting with you virtually!
LI-MT1
This role may require access to export-controlled commodities and technology. Therefore, to conform to U.S. export control regulations, applicant should be eligible for any required authorizations from the U.S. Government.
Unisys is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that considers all qualified applicants without regard to age, caste, citizenship, color, disability, family medical history, family status, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, parental status, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status or any other category protected by law.
This commitment includes our efforts to provide for all those who seek to express interest in employment the opportunity to participate without barriers. If you are a US job seeker unable to review the job opportunities herein, or cannot otherwise complete your expression of interest, without additional assistance and would like to discuss a request for reasonable accommodation, please contact our Global Recruiting organization at GlobalRecruiting@unisys.com or alternatively Toll Free: 888-560-1782 (Prompt 4). US job seekers can find more information about Unisys’ EEO commitment here.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a Principal Cybersecurity Engineer
Verify your CIP code before applying
Confirm your degree's Classification of Instructional Programs code qualifies under the STEM OPT extension list maintained by DHS. Cybersecurity programs (CIP 11.1003) and computer science programs (CIP 11.0701) typically qualify, but network administration or general IT degrees may not.
Check E-Verify status before accepting offers
Your employer must be actively enrolled in E-Verify for your STEM OPT extension to be valid. Search the E-Verify employer database directly to confirm enrollment before you sign anything. Federal contractors are required to participate, making them reliable targets.
Build your I-983 training plan around security domains
Your I-983 must detail specific learning objectives tied to your STEM degree. For cybersecurity engineering roles, map training goals to NIST frameworks, threat modeling methodologies, or zero-trust architecture work you'll perform, not just your job title or team.
Target clearance-eligible roles with OPT timelines in mind
Many Principal Cybersecurity Engineer positions at defense contractors require security clearances that can take 12 to 18 months to process. Focus your search on roles where clearance is preferred but not required to start, giving you time to pursue H-1B visa sponsorship in parallel.
Use Migrate Mate to find employers with STEM OPT hiring history
Filter your job search on Migrate Mate to surface Principal Cybersecurity Engineer roles at employers with verified STEM OPT and E-Verify participation. This cuts the research time spent confirming employer eligibility before you apply.
File your STEM OPT extension application 90 days early
USCIS allows you to file the I-765 for your STEM OPT extension up to 90 days before your initial OPT expires. Submitting early protects your authorization if adjudication runs long, and your existing EAD remains valid while the extension is pending.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a computer science or information security degree qualify for the STEM OPT extension for this role?
Yes, if your degree's CIP code appears on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. Computer science (CIP 11.0701), computer and information systems security (CIP 11.1003), and related engineering fields typically qualify. Your DSO can confirm your specific CIP code. A general information technology or business technology degree may not qualify even if your job title is in cybersecurity.
Does my employer need to be enrolled in E-Verify for my STEM OPT extension to be valid?
Yes. E-Verify enrollment is a hard requirement for STEM OPT. Your employer must be actively enrolled before your extension begins, not just registered. You can confirm enrollment through the E-Verify employer search tool. Federal contractors and subcontractors are generally required to participate, which makes them more predictable targets for STEM OPT job seekers in cybersecurity.
What should my I-983 training plan include for a Principal Cybersecurity Engineer position?
Your I-983 must directly connect the work you'll perform to your STEM degree's learning objectives. For a Principal Cybersecurity Engineer role, this means specifying security architecture design, vulnerability assessment methodologies, incident response protocols, or compliance framework implementation you'll own. Generic descriptions like 'performs security work' are insufficient. USCIS expects a clear line from your degree field to your daily responsibilities.
How does cap-gap protection work if my H-1B is selected in the lottery while I'm on STEM OPT?
If your STEM OPT is still active when your H-1B petition is filed and selected in the lottery, cap-gap extends your work authorization through September 30 of the fiscal year your H-1B takes effect. You can continue working in your Principal Cybersecurity Engineer role without interruption. Your employer doesn't need to take additional action beyond ensuring the H-1B petition is timely filed before your OPT end date.
Where can I find Principal Cybersecurity Engineer jobs where employers already understand STEM OPT requirements?
Migrate Mate lists Principal Cybersecurity Engineer roles filtered for employers with STEM OPT and E-Verify eligibility, so you're not spending time vetting employer compliance manually. Employers in defense contracting, financial services, and enterprise cloud security are among the most consistent STEM OPT hirers in this role category, and Migrate Mate surfaces those postings with the relevant authorization details already verified.